The Little Things Matter
by mandaree1
Summary: The gems get over Rose in their own time, and in their own ways. The same can be said with warming up to Steven.
1. Amethyst

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!**

 **Title: The Little Things Matter**

 **Summary: The gems get over Rose in their own time, and in their own ways. The same can be said with warming up to Steven.**

 **Chapter Title: Amethyst**

 **Warnings: Quite possibly O.O.C.; maybe a tad non-canon complaint?**

 **...**

Amethyst _really_ didn't want to be the first one to go visit the kid, but it was starting to look unavoidable.

Well, no. It was unavoidable from the start. Garnet needed time to wrap her head around the fact that love can end the way it had, that not everyone was going to fit the way Ruby and Sapphire did (although she'd never admit it), so she was burying herself in her work while they worked it out.

And Pearl...

Whatever, Amethyst shook herself rather roughly and put her hand on her hip. She wasn't caught up like Garnet or afraid of contact like Pearl currently was. Pain and self-loathing was nothing new to her. She knew how to shoulder it and move on, ignoring the stabbing pain in her heart.

Amethyst wasn't here to mope. She was here to be a weapon; not to mention lighten the mood.

Let them wallow in pity, for all she cared. They hadn't let her do it before; why would she let _herself_ do it now? (Not to mention that if she started now, she wouldn't be able to crawl back out, but whatever. Amethyst didn't want to think about it.)

Fine then. Greg was cool; he'd understand if she popped by for a second, right?

Right. That would work. Why wouldn't it work?

So she takes the long way to the car wash (not because she wanted to avoid the silence that brought on more and more thoughts that she didn't like to think about. Uh-uh. Nope. That wasn't it at all) and knocked on his van door. Greg opened it and blinked at her.

"'Sup. I'm here to see the kid."

"What the- oh, _get in here_ already." He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her inside with a quick glance around. "Sorry. It's just... there's enough rumors floating around as it is. A weird purple woman appearing on my doorstep isn't going to help matters. I don't want Steven growing up like that, you know?"

"No." How could she know, anyway? "But I guess that makes sense."

Greg leaned against the nearest wall with a sigh. "Again, sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude." Like a little jerk on the shoulder could hurt her. He cleared his throat. "A-Anyway, you wanted to see Steven, right? Because that's cool. Come on."

For a split second, Amethyst almost blurts out that no, that wasn't it. That all she wanted right now was some Lil' Butler reruns and junk food to take her mind off things. But Greg stopped wanting to hang with her after he and Rose got together- and who could blame him, anyway? She'd never be nearly as amazing a gem as Rose was- so it wouldn't do her any good to say anything. It'd only lead to more heartbreak. "Lead on, dude."

As it turns out, baby humans (er, half-humans) get their own little spaces (or 'rooms', in the average household), which kinda makes sense. But Amethyst grew up in a hole, and then, later, the piles of junk she called her own, so she didn't really have much experience to compare though.

"Wait, is it in a mini-jail cell? Dude, that's so hardcore." Amethyst found herself grinning like an idiot at the wooden cage holding the tiniest human she's ever seen in her life because, come on, he's still part gem. It doesn't even have a roof. It'll never hold him. "What it'd do?"

"It's not a _jail cell_ , Amethyst. It's a bed. The bars make it so he can't roll off."

She scanned the distance between the bed and the floor disinterestedly. "A fall like that wouldn't even leave a scratch on 'em."

"Babies are fragile, Amethyst. A fall like that could hurt one very easily." He gently picked the baby up, blanket and all, and held him out with a smile. "You wanna hold him?"

"Pfft. No." She'd crush him. If a fall like that could hurt him, being held by her would destroy him. Amethyst was sure of it.

Steven's tiny hands curled up in the blanket and pulled it up and over his gem. Amethyst was suddenly hyper-aware of a dirt stain on her shoe. "He do that often?"

Greg nodded sadly. "All the time. I guess it's for the best, though. He can't exactly go walking around with his gem hanging out."

She wants to disagree. Wants to rant and rave about how _proud_ he should be, being part gem, being related to the gem his mother was, but he has a point. This wasn't Homeworld. Rules are different here. (Not that she knew what Homeworld was like personally, but whatever. That wasn't the point.) "Whatever."

Greg gently set him back in the jail-bed, pulling the blanket up and tucking it under his chin. "There." He patted his stomach soothingly. "Much better."

"I... just don't know what to do anymore, Amethyst." He sighed, running a hand across his head in frustration. "What am I gonna do? I can't enroll him in school like this, or give him a normal childhood like I'd hoped to. I just... how do I raise him all on my own?"

He's asking the wrong gem. Amethyst wasn't 'raised'. She was made. And not even in the good way, like Garnet and Pearl. They'd know what to do. At least, normally they would. Now wasn't exactly the best time.

She put a hand on her hip- force of habit- and looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Her bangs fell over her eye. She let them. "Raise 'em however you want." She said with a shrug. "He's your kid, after all."

Greg was quiet for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just wish she was here to help me, is all." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, did you find what you were looking for?"

A temporary distraction from the angst and pain floating around the temple? Yes. Peace of mind? Never. Thousands of years worth of support and love couldn't make her feel whole again. Not that she ever was. "Sure. let's go with that."

Before Rose, Greg would've asked her what was wrong. But those times are gone now, so he merely nods his head. "I'll show you the door."

Amethyst goes to follow, but a tugging stops her. It's not nearly enough to actually hurt her, obviously, but the sting of hair being pulled still annoys the crud out of her.

" _Ow_. What the-"

At some point during their exchange Amethyst stepped to close to the jail-bed and Steven, awake and surprisingly mobile, has a tiny hand knotted in her long hair, the blanket draped across his back.

She glares at the baby over her shoulder but didn't move to untangle the hand. "Okay. I'll bite. Why is he pulling my hair?"

"I dunno." Greg raised his hands in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. "'Cause he wants to?"

And if that wasn't her life motto in a single sentence. Amethyst found herself laughing like a loon while she _ever so gently_ removed his fingers from her hair. "I think we're gonna get along just fine, little dude." She winced as he grabbed one of her fingers and squeezed it as hard as he could. "As long as you stop doing stuff like that, that is."

* * *

"I know that feel, dude."

Amethyst paced the floor in front of the baby currently perched on the counter. She pulled open the fridge in search of food.

"I mean, you don't know I know that feel yet, and you don't know _you_ know that feel yet, but you will. One of these days, when you're older, you'll realize that people and gems both will hear your story and pity you because of it. Or hate your guts. It depends, I guess."

She shrugged and pulled out a bowl of food that crunched when she put a handful of it in her mouth and chewed even though it probably wasn't supposed to. She swallowed.

"Anyway, those guys are gonna try and put you down because of who you are and where you come from, and you can't let 'em do that, you hear me? Ever. Because, once they get to you, you can't dig yourself back out. You're stuck that way until you can get yourself out of that rut." How did a person dig themselves out, anyway? 'Cause Amethyst could certainly use a couple of tips.

Not that she was speaking from personal experience or anything. Nope. Amethyst was a wall; nobody could break through except for herself.

"So if somebody starts trying to put you down, don't listen to 'em. Just knock 'em out cold." Which Amethyst personally considers to be pretty solid advice, but, as this _is_ Rose Quartz's son, she's suddenly aware of the fact that chances are he's going to be a lover, not a fighter. "Or just call me. I mean, I'm always for a little extra fun in my day." And if it made it possible for one less ball of angst to be wandering around, then all the better.

"Having fun?"

Amethyst has the decency to jump despite not being all that surprised. Garnet has a habit of appearing wherever there was trouble. Or, if no trouble was present, then wherever she felt like appearing. Finding her standing in the doorway while she did her best to rip her heart open without _actually_ ripping it open wasn't anything all that surprising.

"Hey, he's never to young for his first pep-talk."

Garnet tilted her head towards her in silent recognition but otherwise didn't comment. "Why is he here, anyway?"

"Greg decided to give babysitting a try." She shrugged. "Apparently some humans let other humans- or gems- take care of their offspring sometimes, and he seemed to think I'd be a good candidate."

"And you... agreed?"

"Meh. Why not? I can be responsible when I gotta be." Wait, no. That'd sounded better in her head. "Hey, did you know that babies can't eat most stuff when their little? It kinda sucks; I was really looking forward to showing him some food his dad doesn't have."

Garnet seems to read what she's thinking, rather than what she's saying, and nods her head. "It has been rather... quiet around here. A change in routine might be just the thing we need."

Amethyst goes to reply, but the fusion's head is cocked to the side, listening to voices that are in no one's head but her own. "Hey... Is everything okay?"

Garnet slowly nods her head. "We... are trying to work things out."

"Wait. Ruby and Sapphire? Having an argument?" She scoffed. "I don't believe it."

"We don't argue." She defends. "Not exactly. We have different opinions, sometimes. We talk them out. It's that simple. But it's givin' me a headache; dealin' with two completely different conversations at once."

"Then don't." Amethyst shrugs. Sometimes she feels a bit envious of Garnet- she's never going to have to feel alone; is never forced to go through the same pain Amethyst does without any help- but now is not one of those times. "Go find a quiet room somewhere and work it out. The world won't end if you do." Hopefully. Amethyst wasn't the future-seer here.

"You... might have a point. You gonna be okay alone with the kid?"

Amethyst put a hand on her hip. "Hey. Give me _some_ credit." She wouldn't kill off Rose Quartz's only offspring- accidentally or otherwise. Did Garnet not trust her? Of course she didn't trust her; she was the irresponsible not-gem that needed to learn how to 'act like a proper gem'. That was _one_ lecture she'd heard plenty of times before.

Garnet didn't say as much, but Amethyst could feel something of the sort hovering in the air. Maybe it was just her. Maybe it wasn't. It probably wasn't, though. "Alright. Don't go running off without myself or Pearl, you hear me? He's too small for anything just yet."

Then, with a hand to her head, massaging the bridge of her nose, she slowly trailed out of the room. Steven made a noise that she recognized as that 'baby talk' thing Greg had warned her about.

"Eh. Don't worry 'bout it. Garnet usually has a better head on her shoulders. She'll be back to normal in a coupla days."

She picked him up as gently as possible and cradled him to her chest. "In the meantime, I'll just have to settle with introducing you to the wonders of TV. You'll thank me when you're older."

Amethyst flopped on the couch and slung an arm around the back. She grabbed the remote. "Now, what to watch..."

She powered the TV on and started searching the channels at an annoyingly low volume rather than prod the moping beast when a soft snore made her glance to the right.

Steven was curled against her side, head on her thigh, snoring quietly. Amethyst crossed her arms. "If this is your way of saying I bored you to sleep, it's not funny."

The baby made a noise relatively close to a 'snrk'. Amethyst eyed him, shrugged, then flopped down on the couch next to him. "A nap sounds pretty good, actually."

She stared at the ceiling a few minutes, then tilted her head back to stare at the back of his head. "I'm not gonna lie, little man. Kinda want you to be like _her_. But, at the same time, nobody could ever be as awesome as she was."

Steven curled his tiny fist in a blotch of hair that had fallen over him by accident. Amethyst closed her eyes and did her best to try and fall asleep.

 **Author's Note: So... my first Steven Universe 'fic.**

 **I'm fairly sure Garnet's O.O.C., but I'm trying. Amethyst isn't as wacky as she normally is, but I guess Rose can count as an excuse for that? I dunno.**

 **Not going to lie, I'm going a bit out of my comfort zone here. Normally I leave fandoms like Steven Universe alone because I'm not nearly as well-versed in the intricacies as the more hardcore, older fans. Keep that in mind, please.**

 **This is going to be a three chapter thing, by the way. Expect more in the future.**

 **A few months ago I would look at the commercials for new episodes and think the show was so sugary that I wouldn't be able to stand it. Now I'm writing a fluffy, slightly angst-y 'fic and am incredibly aware of the fact that it's probably not angst-y enough. It's funny how that works.**

 **No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!**


	2. Garnet

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!**

 **Title: The Little Things Matter**

 **Summary: The gems get over Rose in their own time, and in their own ways. The same can be said with warming up to Steven.**

 **Chapter Title: Garnet**

 **Warnings: This is my first time working with a fusion, so it might come off a little confusing or O.O.C. I tried.**

 **...**

 **KND Operative Numbuh 227 \- Thanks! =)**

 **astrovagant \- Thanks! It's not Amethyst I'm worried about so much as I am Garnet and possibly Pearl. Garnet especially.**

 **x2multi \- Yeah, I fixed that. I wasn't so sure at first if it was right or not, but then, after watching Keeping It Together, I've decided that, yeah, that was what she would've said. Thanks for the advice!**

 **...**

Ruby and Sapphire didn't argue. Really, they didn't. In the grand scheme of things, it just didn't make any sense to. Sapphire usually knew what she was talking about. Ruby usually ended up being wrong.

That may sound bad, but it was only her being realistic. Sapphire always thought things through. Ruby just shrugged her shoulders and went with it; plowing her way through the bad guys with a temper rarely present in most old Homeworld gems.

Getting angry unnecessarily was illogical. The Homeworld gems were, above all else, as logical as possible. The Crystal Gems... well, they tended to bend and break the mold in every way possible.

Key phrase; tended to.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"That sounds amazingly familiar." Sapphire quipped, having said the same thing to her many times over the years.

"Sarcasm isn't really your thing." It's not Ruby's, either. That was Garnet; combing their traits into a completely different sort of humor entirely.

"Ruby, you don't need to have a come back for everything, you know."

Ruby winced at her answer, then shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I know."

Sapphire hummed and nodded. "You were saying?"

They didn't really argue, but moments like this did occur from time to time. A visible rift began to form in the mind. It wasn't just Garnet right then. It was Ruby and Sapphire and Garnet; facing a problem together. (Garnet may be created out of their love, but she was still her own being in her own way).

They were two separate beings inside a single fusion. They didn't unfuse or anything, not over silly things like this, but they were forced into an expanse of darkness inside the fusion's mind that was formless yet somehow deafening. Compared to the way things usually were, when they were inseparable, one being that just so happened to have two old names, it was almost painful. Ruby felt close to Sapphire, closer than they were when they were apart, but still not quite close enough.

"We don't have to talk about it, you know. Not if you don't want to." Ruby swung her legs. She was sitting on nothing and swinging her legs into an endless abyss, but she didn't feel afraid. She never was. Not when she was with Sapphire.

Sapphire nodded again and was silent. Ruby twitched anxiously, not wanting to press. She knew she could be a bit... overwhelming at times, and she'd hate to accidentally smother her partner.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

Sapphire's fingers bunched up the fabric on the front of her dress. Ruby covered one of her hands with her own.

"He's so... small. The tiniest little thing can hurt him, Ruby, and we see all of those possibilities. Every. Single. One." The fingers under Ruby's hand tightened even further. "He's not going to live very long, either. Even if he could live as long as us, why would he want to?" She sighed. "All these possibilities, along with his already shortened lifespan... they scare me. I'm not sure I want to take that chance and set us up for heartbreak."

Silence reigned for a long moment when, beside herself, Ruby let out a small chuckle.

Sapphire sat up even straighter. "Ruby." She warned. Her voice didn't rise- it never really did- but Ruby knew her well enough to recognize the anger lying dormant beneath her words.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just..." She paused. "You used to say stuff sorta like that back when we first met. About me."

"But _you're_ different." Sapphire exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. Ruby was mildly surprised by the action- Sapphire never did _anything_ abruptly- but didn't complain. She'd never admit it, but she really liked hugging and being hugged. Especially Sapphire's hugs. They were always warm and soft. "I never have to worry with you. We're always together. If we fall, we fall together, because that's who we are. He- _Steven_ \- isn't us, Ruby."

Ruby grunted in acknowledgement and swallowed what she was about to say, knowing that she wasn't exactly the best with her words. She always came off as rough and coarse- and don't get her wrong, she was- but Sapphire deserved better.

She groaned. "Ugh. I can't talk right."

"Just say what's on your mind. We'll work the rest out after."

Ruby grunted again and squeezed her hand. "Sapphire, you know I love you, right?" She smiled at her awkwardly. "One of the things I love about you is that you always think things through. You can spend hundreds of years working something out; working out all the options and imagining how they all will play out before making a decision. I'm just not that smart."

"You're not stupid, Ruby." She responded. "You're very smart."

"Yeah, I guess. Just not too deep." Sapphire frowned at her pointedly. Ruby looked away. "A-Anyway, what I was trying to say is... well, we may be able to look at all the options together and spend years debating it, we don't _have_ forever. He's still a human. Like you said, human's grow and age a heck of a lot faster than we do. We just don't have that kind of time with him."

The blue gem paused in thought, then slowly nodded. "You're right. We _don't_ have that kind of time."

Ruby already loved the kid. Sapphire still needed some time to think about it.

* * *

Garnet walked into the living room to find Amethyst and Steve snoring together on the mattress they'd procured for his stay, the child's fingers tangled in her long hair.

"Don't do that." She said, carefully untangling the fingers. "It's never any fun when someone pulls on your hair."

Garnet never really felt any pain when someone messed with her hair, something that would prove to be very useful as Steven grew up. Her counterparts, however, did. Especially Sapphire.

"Thanks, Garnet." Amethyst grunted sleepily, stretching. "But didja have to wake me up?"

"You were going to wake up sometime." She answered, bringing the child to eye level to examine him. Unafraid of her despite her intimidating stature, the baby grabbed her glasses with a curious hand and pulled them off to inspect them.

"Hey. Those are mine."

Steven, responding to her voice, glanced up to stare at her. For a second, Garnet feared he was petrified by her inhuman looks, but then he started giggling.

She relaxed. ' _Right. He's just a baby. He won't find us threatening unless we actively try to intimidate him._ '

Garnet plucked the glasses out of his hand with a careful touch and slid them back on.

Amethyst glanced at her. "So. You work things out?"

She nodded, clumsily cradling the baby to her chest. "We made a decision."

' _See? He's not even scared of us_.'

' _Yet. Give him a few years and some time to understand that we aren't normal_.'

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"What'd you decide?"

Garnet paused. Steven grabbed one of her long fingers and squeezed. She smiled at him and chuckled a little. "Tiny hands are adorable."

Had it been Pearl, she would've prodded. But it's Amethyst, who isn't one to look too deep into things, especially herself. Instead, she just shrugs and examines her own small-ish hands. "Meh. You get used to 'em."

 **Author's Note: This is my first time writing anything like a fusion before, so it's not the best. I still like it though.**

 **Do you guys know how hard it is to write pre-canon Garnet fluff after watching Keeping It Together? Not to mention I've still got Connie and Greg feels in my system. I really want to write something for it, but I suck at most forms of angst and no ideas have formed, so I'm stuck.**

 **Well, if anything, Keep It Together proved my mini-headcanon that the gem's in a fusion _can_ speak to each other as separate individuals within a fusion, if only during stressful situations. (But now that I think about it, didn't Jasper and Lapis do that already? Whoops)**

 **Also, Ruby and Sapphire are adorable. I just hope that, if (hopefully once) they appear in the series again, this doesn't turn out to be even more O.O.C. than it probaby already is. (I'm sorry, but all I see with Ruby is adorable awkwardness when she's with people/gems that don't make her temper flare up.)**

 **No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!**


	3. Pearl

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!**

 **Title: The Little Things Matter**

 **Summary: The gems get over Rose in their own time, and in their own ways. The same can be said with warming up to Steven.**

 **Warnings: You know how I said that Garnet was the toughest for me to write? Yeah, no. Pearl was practically impossible.**

 **Chapter Title: Pearl**

 **...**

 **KND Operative Numbuh 227 \- I know, right? Steven and anything having to do with square mom is adorable in my book. =)**

 **Phoebe Sophia \- I try, but this is my first Steven Universe multi-chapter. I'm prone to errors. =)**

 **wildface97 \- Thanks! I figured they're be a bunch of these, honestly. I've seen a couple of different fanart mini-comics for it. And, yeah, she's not the most accepting of him at first, but who can blame her?**

 **...**

If there is one thing Pearl is grateful for, in terms of _it_ , it's that it's given her that many more chores to do around the temple.

Pearl liked the chores. The baby?... Well, it deserved _some_ respect, she supposed. It _was_ Rose's offspring, after all. But that didn't mean she had to like him.

Honestly, she thought with a grimace, waiting for the tell-tale noise that signaled the washer was done. What were those two thinking? Sure, the child _may_ have Rose's beautiful gem, but that didn't make it one of them. It just made it better than the average human; not that that was a spectacularly hard accomplishment to achieve.

She didn't even twitch when the warp pad was activated, but she _did_ look when Amethyst appeared with Steven in her arms.

"Hey." She paused, rocking on her heels. She looked somewhat sheepish. "Look. We've got squat here to eat, and he's stayin' over the weekend. Garnet's... _somewhere_ , doin' Garnet stuff, so take care of him for me?"

She rushed over and set him in the empty hamper. "Just make sure he doesn't fall off, okay? 'Kay, thanks, bye." She said in a rush.

"What? No! Amethys-"

The purple gem leapt onto the pad and disappeared without another word.

"Ugh." Pearl growled in irritation, then, remembering the baby staring at her from the hamper, she picked him up and set him on the ground. "This is low, even for Amethyst."

The washer beeped. Pearl opened the door and pulled out a small pair of star-riddled pajama bottoms and a pajama shirt with a large star on the front.

Steven, having gotten to his feet, giggled and pointed at the load of laundry, tugging on her pant leg excitedly. "Gem!" He squealed.

Pearl frowned and examined the star emblazoned on the front of the shirt. "No, a star. _Star_." She dragged the word out. "You should know this; you're the one who wears these silly things."

He watched her mess with the laundry for a little while, then started toddling around. Pearl grabbed him mere-seconds before he fell off the stone hand and plummeted to the ground far below, setting him on top of the still washer. "There. Honestly, Amethyst wasn't even this much trouble when she was small."

To be honest, however, Pearl and Amethyst had gotten along a lot better when she was small, and, as such, was less prone to getting into trouble.

It's amazing to think so much has changed in such a short amount of time.

Speaking of change, Steven wasn't really a baby anymore, was he? Pearl blinked at him owlishly. He was a toddler now.

That was fast.

* * *

Pearl finished drying the clothes, then folded them. As Amethyst had yet to return, and she wasn't going to go back into the house and give the toddler even _more_ things to mess with, she re-did the last load of laundry and grabbed some towels from the day before to wash.

The morning passed into afternoon and then into early evening. Pearl was starting to get worried, if only for the innocent humans standing in Amethysts way getting food, when finally the warp pad was activated.

Pearl, whom was more than at her wits end at this point, didn't waste time with pleasantries. "What were you thin- oh. Hello, Garnet."

The leader of their ragtag group of rebels tilted her head towards her in greeting. "You been here all day?"

Pearl wrung her fingers together with a nod. "More or less. Have you seen Amethyst?"

Garnet nodded, then shook her head. "I'll take over. She needs her rest."

"We don't sleep." She reminded her tersely.

"There was a situation at the store. Took us most of the day." She paused. "Sleeping is her way of fixing her wounds a bit without poofing. Let her rest."

"Something happened? And no one came and got me?" A burst of indignation bubbled up inside her. She'd survived innumerable battles and losing the gem she was willing to _die_ for, and Garnet didn't think she was capable of handling a 'situation'? Did Garnet honestly think so little of her? Was she really so unreliable?

"Someone needed to babysit Steven. You were already here." The fusion walked over and stoically looked over the ever cheerful toddler on the washer. "I hope it wasn't too much of a bother."

"Of course it was. Amethyst practically _threw_ him at me before disappearing without even asking if I'd agree to it!"

"That sounds like her." She chuckled, bending over slightly to pick the boy up. "I'll be right back."

She confidently walked onto the warp pad, Steven in her arms, and warped away without another word.

Pearl hovered over the hamper set on top of the dryer, filled halfway with perfectly folded clothes, and was hyper aware, more so than before, that the hamper was getting more and more full with every visit of the tiny half-gem.

Pearl liked routines. She liked it when things were orderly and simple. But now even her more basic routines are routinely changing, and how was she supposed to deal with that?

More and more toys littered the floor after every visit. No one ever bothered to return them. The same went for his clothes. They'd added on his very own room, complete with a new bed and everything.

The last time they'd created a bedroom of any sort was when they'd first adopted Amethyst.

Garnet reappeared a few minutes later. "I put Steven to bed. He'll no longer be a problem."

"Thank you."

The fusion stepped off the pad and leaned against one of the stone fingers, patiently waiting for her to speak.

Pearl took a deep breath in through her nose, then let it out as a sigh. "Garnet, what's really going on? With the baby, I mean?" She refused to call the toddler by its first name. It felt... too personal.

Garnet paused a moment- deciding how to put what she was thinking into words, no doubt- then shrugged. "We're talkin' about letting him live here."

Pearl choked on air. " _Live_ here?"

"Not right now." She assured her. "In a couple of years. He's not old enough yet."

'A couple of years'? Who was Garnet trying to kid? That was the blink of an eye to them; mere seconds. Pearl was certain she could snap her fingers and those 'couple of years' would be gone.

"I know what you're thinking, Pearl. I understand. This is a big decision. I can only imagine how Greg must be feeling; letting go of his last connection to Rose."

Greg's feelings towards surrendering his son to live with a trio of strangely-colored magical extraterrestrials didn't particularly interest Pearl; it was the whole 'surrendering' part that had her full attention. "B-But, Garnet! He's a _human_!"

"He's a gem too. And, like it or not, he's going to have magical powers just like any other gem. We won't know how strong or how weak they may be until they begin to mature. We _need_ to start teaching him while he's young, Pearl. For his safety, and the safety of the humans around him."

"We don't even know _how_ to take care of a human offspring!"

"We'll leave the parenting to Greg." She shot her a look. "Who _will_ be allowed to see Steven when he isn't with us. It's only right."

"W-What about food? And all those... other human things?"

Another shrug. "Again, Greg. We'll have to start stocking up for two now, but that's not a big deal. Humans don't eat as much as Amethyst does anyway."

"I mean, I-I just..." She sputtered, trailing off. She slumped over the dryer, feeling every eon of her age. "I don't know if I'm ready for something like this." She stated, voice flat.

A strong hand set itself on her shoulder. "I know, Pearl. None of us really are." Garnet's face softened, if only a tad. Pearl vaguely wondered how Ruby and Sapphire were reacting to all of this change. (At least they had each other, but who did _she_ have?) "But he _needs_ us. He needs our guidance and he needs our wisdom- what little we have. He deserves to know exactly where he comes from and what he can do. Who are we to deny him that?"

Pearl didn't answer. She couldn't find the words to.

"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm not asking you to like _him_. But someday, for one reason or another, he's going to need your help. And you'll have to decide if you will or not."

Garnet left her alone to her thoughts. Pearl hardly even noticed her go, save for the cold breeze on her once-warm shoulder.

* * *

"Star!" Steven yelled, pointing a chubby finger at the expanse of darkness above them.

Pearl sighed. "Yes, Steven. Those are stars. I'm glad to see you've started to figure it out."

She doesn't know how she got to this point, honestly. One second she was silently staring at the stars, trying to wrap her mind around all the change she'd been forced through in what amounted to mere minutes in their lifespans, when suddenly she had a toddler in her lap. She wondered if this was Amethyst's doing, or if he'd just wandered his way onto the porch on his own. Part of her recoiled at the unfamiliar look about him, all soft and squishy, but he's still Rose's son, and it's not that bad, all things considered, so she doesn't make him move. Besides, he probably couldn't survive a tumble off the porch should he fall off by accident.

Humans were truly such fragile creatures.

"Rose used to love the stars, you know." She told the small child. "She loved them the most when she was looking up at them from the Earth. Any planet, really. She always used to say they reminded her of how small she really was." Pearl chuckled despite not finding anything funny. "I never understood how she could say such things about herself. I think... sometimes, I wonder if she thought all those things we said about her were us humoring her; making sure she didn't lose her confidence. And that couldn't be any farther from the truth."

Steven stared at her a long moment with his eyes in the shapes of stars. It took Pearl's breath away, because, yeah, Greg could do that too, but he looks _so much_ like his mother, but so much _not_ like her. He reaches up- her head is bent- and taps the gem in the center of her forehead triumphantly with the palm of his hand. "Gem!"

Well, at least he was starting to get his terms right. Pearl blinked at him, the moment somewhat broken. She slowly reached down and poked his pajama shirt directly above the gem in his stomach with a nod. "Gem." She agreed. Steven giggled.

She shook her head. "I just don't know what Garnet is thinking. You should be allowed to live a simple human life with your simple human friends. Our history is riddled with things no child- nor any human- should ever have to know."

The toddler was silent for the first time since Pearl had been stuck with him that day those few weeks ago, watching her with curious eyes. Pearl sighed "But, if you're anything like your mother was, that'll be the last thing you'll want."

Steven yawned and fell back against her sleepily. Pearl hesitantly picked him up, suddenly very aware of her strength and his easily hurt body, and walked into the temple. "It's past your bedtime."

She wondered if it was wrong of her, liking Rose's offspring, if only a little. It felt almost like cheating, even if her feelings were entirely different from that of his mother. She'd sworn her very existence to his mother, and now she wanted to do the same for him; protect and nurture him, be the gem to inspire him. Pearl wasn't quite sure how to describe how she was feeling.

* * *

Pearl wrinkled her nose at the obscene amounts of human food-goop covering Steven's chin and shirt and stifled a gag. "That is disgusting."

Amethyst, on her part, just shrugs. "Hey, he's gotta eat. 'S not my fault he's really messy about it."

"He's following your example."

"He can barely talk. He ain't 'following' anybody."

"Regardless, I refuse for him to learn that it's okay for him to eat like a pig. It's bad enough I have to _smell_ it, I refuse to have to see it twenty four-seven."

Huffing, Pearl picked the small half-human up and headed towards the bathroom with an air of determination. "He's getting a bath. Now."

Garnet nodded her approval once she left the room. "Well, it's a start, at least."

"Yeah, I guess."

She glanced at the purple gem currently draped across the couch nonchalantly. "And what about you? Are you alright with all of this?"

"Hmm? Whattaya mean?"

" _You_ were Steven's first and main caretaker. Now you barely even get to hold him."

Well, yeah, but Amethyst isn't exactly in the running for mother of the year. It was a good thing that somebody else was willing to step in and take charge when she wasn't capable or was too lazy to. And, sure, having both Garnet and Pearl be approving of him meant they'd have one less thing they could relate to each other when he got older, but it'd also give him one less hang up, which was for the best.

Besides, he wasn't something she could own and posses. He was a living creature; not the junk in her room.

"Meh." She shrugged and looked away, bangs covering her eye. "I would've gotten bored of taking care of him eventually anyway. It's probably for the best."

 **Author's Note: First multi-chapter Steven Universe fanfic done! I feel so accomplished. =)**

 **Also, it might be wise to state that these chapters are spaced out time-line wised; they aren't one after the other. Amethyst is only a few weeks/a month or two after Steven is born (well, however long it takes for a baby to develop enough to grab things and yank on them. I'm not sure how long that takes). Garnet is a year or two after that, and Pearl is two or three years after he was born, at least.**

 **There was so much I was trying to convey in this chapter; grief, indecision, confusion, etc. I hope I managed to at least allude to some of those things.**

 **Random Fun Fact: Amethyst is my favorite character, and it kinda shows in how I managed to work her into every chapter. I just really like the complexities to her. (They're all complex, of course, but Amethyst is my favorite to write/think about).**

 **No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!**


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